San Jose Earthquakes win first-place showdown over Real Salt Lake

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SANDY, UT - JUNE 23: Tony Beltran #2 of Real Salt Lake takes the ball from Marvin Chavez #81 of the San Jose Earthquakes during the first half of an MLS soccer game June 23, 2012 at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah.(Photo by George Frey/Getty Images)

SANDY, UT - JUNE 23: Javier Morales #11 of Real Salt Lake grabs his ankle after he was taken down by Khari Stephenson #7 of the San Jose Earthquakes during the first half of an MLS soccer game June 23, 2012 at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah.(Photo by George Frey/Getty Images)

SANDY, UT - JUNE 23: Fabian Espindola #7 of Real Salt Lake and Justin Morrow #15 of the San Jose Earthquakes fight for the ball during the first half of an MLS soccer game June 23, 2012 at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah.(Photo by George Frey/Getty Images)

SANDY, UT - JUNE 23: Fabian Espindola #7 of Real Salt Lake and Justin Morrow #15 of the San Jose Earthquakes chase down the ball during the first half of an MLS soccer game June 23, 2012 at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah.(Photo by George Frey/Getty Images)

SANDY, UT - JUNE 23: Terukazu Tanaka #53 of Real Salt Lake takes the ball from Chris Wondolowski #8 of the San Jose Earthquakes during the first half of an MLS soccer game June 23, 2012 at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah.(Photo by George Frey/Getty Images)

SANDY, UT - JUNE 23: Goalie Nick Rimando #18 of Real Salt Lake gathers in a shot by Victor Bernardez #26 of the San Jose Earthquakes as Nat Borchers #6 looks on during the first half of an MLS soccer game June 23, 2012 at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah.(Photo by George Frey/Getty Images)

Just as they did two months earlier, the Earthquakes leaned on late-game heroics to stun Real Salt Lake, knock RSL out of first place in the Western Conference and claim it for themselves.

The Quakes got two goals in the final 16 minutes Saturday to beat Real Salt Lake 2-1 and take a one-point lead in the conference race.

In front of 18,050 fans at Rio Tinto Stadium, Chris Wondolowski scored his league-leading 13th goal in the 84th minute to break a brief 1-1 tie, after the Quakes and Salt Lake traded goals in the 75th and 79th minutes.

San Jose (10-3-3) leads MLS in goals scored in the second half with 21.

“To be honest,” Wondolowski said, “I think we were a little bit fortunate.”

Credit the San Jose defense for that. Salt Lake (10-5-2) controlled possession throughout the game and hammered shots at goalkeeper Jon Busch. San Jose relied on spectacular defensive plays to avoid a deficit.

In the 23rd minute, Justin Morrow made a diving header in the goal to save a score, a play that Quakes coach Frank Yallop called “brilliant.”

Later, Victor Bernardez and Jason Hernandez made hard, goal-preventing tackles in the box, and Hernandez also headed clear a shot in the second half when he was the last defender.

“That’s what they have to do, right?” Yallop said. “For me, it’s about putting your body and your mind on the line, and our guys have done it all season.”

The Quakes have made a habit of winning in late-game fashion, including a 3-1 win over Real Salt Lake on April 21 at Buck Shaw Stadium.

San Jose scored twice in stoppage time in that victory after Real Salt Lake had lost two players to red cards by the 70th minute.

At the rate of Real Salt Lake’s attack Saturday, it seemed the home team was prepared to exact revenge.

“If you play a lot of games in this league,” Hernandez said, “you understand that if you take wave and wave of attack, that something’s going to happen. Something’s going to go wrong, and they’re going to put one away.”

By the time RSL did, on a free kick by Javier Morales, San Jose had already broken the 0-0 stalemate on a sharp header by Alan Gordon. It was Gordon’s fifth goal off the bench this season, another MLS-leading statistic for the Quakes.

“I’ve been fortunate to be on the score sheet and causing some chances out there,” Gordon said.

Gordon also assisted on the go-ahead goal, drawing praise from Wondolowski as “legend.”

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